Tornado Warning
by Spastic Ash
Summary: It's been six years since Soul Evans discovered he was a wizard and met Maka Albarn. Now their friendship and their loyalties to the DWMA will be challenged as the wizarding world descends into chaos with the rumoured resurrection of Asura. When Soul and Maka are confronted by Kishin spies, everything falls apart. Harry Potter AU. Full summary in 1st Chapter. Soul x Maka
1. Category 1

**Tornado Warning**

Summary: It has been six years since Soul Evans discovered he was a wizard and met Maka Albarn. Now their friendship and their loyalties to the DWMA will be challenged as the wizarding world descends into chaos with the rumoured resurrection of Asura. Following the leftover trauma from the Grimm Times and the more recent wizarding wars in Britain tensions are high and when Soul and Maka are confronted by Kishin spies, everything falls apart. Harry Potter AU.

My submission for resbang2k14, this year is my first time entering resbang and I super hope you like it. My artists for this fic are keksfanxxx and cojode, check out their art!

Thankyou so much to my beta Otakittycat for giving my ideas and saving my ass when I needed it

Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

><p><strong>Category One<strong>

Soul was certain of two things, one; he definitely regretted helping Maka pass transfiguration, and two; he should've never told her about how he first found out about his wizarding abilities because he was stuck as a spoon inside Maka's pocket as she climbed the steps to her dorm room in the Gryffindor tower.

It was a mistake, really, and he's there he was, stuck in the cottony darkness of Maka's robes. What was worse was that his best-friend had given him _no fucking_ _warning_ before she transfigured him; the brat was one of the few people who had mastered the art of silent spells before she was eighteen. Albeit there was never any verbal warning with her, it was usually an unspoken nod directed at him before she cast a spell on him but sometimes she forgot to give him that warning before she cast spells.

This was one of those times.

At the beginning of his first year at Death's Wizarding Magical Academy he had promised her that he'd teach her how to use the internet and other muggle contraptions which had resulted in some strange pact that left him safe and excluded him from future flying lessons. Soul guessed that this whole muggle education system was what really cemented their friendship. It sure as hell hadn't been teaching her those transfiguration sessions because they were hell. Nonetheless Maka – a bookwormy Gryffindor girl – had taken the title of best friend (and occasionally partner in crime) so here he was, in the Gryffindor girl's dorm room, which was completely forbidden and had some crazy powerful wards that Maka had still managed to work around, trying not to remember his brother and spoons and waiting until the coast was clear so Maka could change him back.

When he first found out about his wizarding abilities he was only eleven. His family was normal, wealthy and 'cultured', living in a big house in the prestigious part of New York. They frequented concerts and pushed their high expectations (one's derived from his brother, Wes', success) onto Soul leaving him feeling useless and talentless like most kids on his block.

That all changed when he had accidentally turned himself into a spoon in a desperate attempt to hide from Wes in an ill-advised game of hide-and-seek. Soul then spent the next three days freaking out as his parents sent out search parties and even put his face on the 7pm news. Finally, after a couple of days of panic and an overwhelming urge to pee, a strange red-haired man appeared on their doorstep with an envelope in one hand and a 'wand' in the other and presto! Soul was no longer a piece of cutlery Wes had used to eat breakfast that morning.

That was six years ago, now he was an idiot whose best friend is the daughter of said red-haired man who in-fact is his transfiguration professor and constant thorn in his side. The only consolation was Maka setting the old man's robes on fire every-time she caught him ogling some poor girl's boobs which in Spirit's case was all the time.

But still, there Soul was, being snuck into the girl's dorm so he could teach Maka how to use the internet because Blaire was buying her the wrong books and god save them all if Maka was left without her books. The last time it happened she was crazy grumpy and nearly burnt down half the library because she couldn't find a decent fiction novel to read.

When he was finally pulled out of her pocket and transfigured back into human he flopped onto her bed and waited for his best friend to join him. She pottered around for a while, making sure her dorm-mates were indisposed before giving him the death glare for messing up her bed. A few minutes later Maka dropped next to Soul, one of her pigtails wacked him in the face and he received a mouthful of hair before she finally made herself comfortable. When she was Soul was jabbed in the side by one of her elbows which was her official signal to start the tutorial.

Soul explained how to use his phone briefly, ideally he wanted to use his laptop but it had shorted after an attempt to recharge it with magic backfired so he was left with his phone.

The only good thing about the Gryffindor tower was that there was a fairly decent wifi signal, after a painstaking explanation of how his phone worked and how to surf the web (which included how to order books from Amazon and getting her to promise to pay him back for anything she ordered) and left her to her own devices.

His only consolidation with these little tutorials in muggle technologies – and everything they fail to mention in their Muggle studies class – was that she was a fast learner and had some experience with the stuff before her mom left to play Quidditch for the DC Skulls.

Bored, Soul poked around the dorm. There were a few crazily messy beds and clothes strewn all over the place, the Gryffindor dorms were quite similar to the Hufflepuff ones, Soul still disliked the place because of how high up they were, he preferred to be closer to the ground.

Well at least he knew why he was sorted into Hufflepuff.

_Moving on_, despite the colours and location the dorms were very similar to his, except there were more girly things like bags of make-up and little lamps that decorated the place. Well that and there was a lot of _red_.

Someone (Maka no doubt) had charmed several of the girls' duvets to make them prettier, you could definitely tell which bed belonged to Liz, Gryffindor's prefect.

Mostly the girls got away with modifying the dorm rooms temporarily, Liz was eternally grateful towards Maka and Marie never managed to find her way up here for inspection, besides, she had a sweet spot for the Gryffindor girls.

It was really amazing what Maka got away with in this place. Soul should have expected it though, Maka had grown up exploring this castle, she knew the ins and outs of DWMA better than most, she could get away with quite a bit and she has already. Her dad was their transfiguration professor, and her mom was a Captain for the DC Skulls which in the wizarding world was important.

Lord Death was just lucky that she was studious and not like Black Star who also knew all the ins and outs of DWMA to a point where he knew where all of the girl's baths were.

In a way Soul was jealous of everyone who grew up in the wizarding world, knowing who they were and who they would be, Maka was especially sure and it hurt a bit to know that he was lagging behind her trying to figure out what to do with his life.

He was a wizard and he was pretty good at transfiguration but that counted for jack-shit compared to Maka who was Gryffindor's esteemed seeker. She was truly gifted and was destined to follow in her mom's footsteps, playing for the US internationally.

When he watched their practices and their matches, Soul swore Maka had wings, on numerous occasions he had seen her practically surf on her broom. She was scarily good at seeking, the snitch was near impossible to see yet she always managed to catch it quickly. Really, she was born to fly and that brought her that much further than Soul.

He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to get Maka as a best friend. He was lucky he even made it past his first year without her, the only thing he was good at was transfiguration and for a while he was even beating Maka at it. That was until she cornered him near the Quidditch pitch and had him levitating for a good five minutes before he caved and promised to teach her how to transfigure, hell he even threw in some free lessons in muggle studies if she promised to never levitate him again.

He still cannot bring himself to look out over the balcony at the astronomy tower after that but he knew without a doubt, that he didn't regret that day.

'…?" Caught up in his thoughts he missed Maka's panic.

"SOUL!" Maka decked him in the back of the head with one of her books and woke him from his stupor.

"What! Geez woman that hurts!" Soul grumbled and turned to face her.

She was bright red and had accidentally redirected herself to some porn site. He couldn't help but laugh and spent the next twenty minutes with a raging headache trying to explain porn and how to avoid (or ignore) the pop-ads.

When she snuck him out of her dorm room and the Gryffindor tower he checked his phone and found that she'd ordered a heap of sappy romance novels from Amazon (she REALLY owed him). When he looked further back he frowned, because one of her searches was about finding ways to cast a patronus.

He knew she struggled to do that but he didn't think it had anything to do with her memories.

* * *

><p>It was common knowledge that the Gryffindor Quidditch team played dirty, their captain was notorious for it so there was no doubt that the team earned their fair share of detentions. Their latest trope was purely Maka's idea which was why she alone had to clean out the Botany shed (Soul no longer regretted teaching her how to transfigure people). Soul had decided that he may as well help, purely from the kindness of his heart (Maka promised to do his homework for him if he helped… that and he was somewhat at fault as well) and so there he was, mucking out a month's worth of leaves and animal shit.<p>

"You- " Soul grunted as he hefted another pile, "better be doing that potions assignment for me"

"As if Soul" Maka mumbled from under the tables, "Stein would notice"

"This is not some favour that can be repaid in astrology homework; this is slave labour and must be repaid in kind", Soul grunted again and chucked another pile of leaf litter out through the window.

"SOU-"

"SSHH, Shut up"

There was a peculiar hissing noise and what sounded like mumbling and then the door to the botany shed flung open and revealed Chrona and their rowdy cat Ragnorak who after a minute of hissing and a lot of crunching and cracking was no longer a cat, but a dark mass of a man. The nervous mumbling continued until Ragnorak turned to Chrona and yelled at them to shut-up.

Soul was still surprised that the pair hadn't noticed him until he saw Maka still under the tables chanting words under her breath. He quickly scooted under the table and out the other side, determined to get around them and out the door with Maka in tow when all the doors and windows slammed shut. They huddled under a row of pots containing nightshade and tried to wait Chrona and Ragnorak out. Clearly the two were up to no good and Ragnorak was definitely not a cat.

"Animagus", Maka whispered in Soul's ear when the two got particularly rowdy, "One of the Kishin, no doubt"

"How can you tell?" Soul whispered back.

"There", Maka pointed at the man's shoulder, "The markings, in the middle of the alchemic circle is an eye. That's how you know" Maka whispered back, "that and they usually eat their victims' souls to attain their magical ability".

Soul felt sick, the wizarding world was crazy complex and had many different laws to his own muggle world but still, devouring the souls was just disgusting. As he was trying not to be sick Maka was focusing intently on what the pair was doing.

When the bickering began again, Soul felt Maka tug on his robes, trying to direct him quietly to the door. This plan of escape would have worked if Maka hadn't tripped over an inconveniently placed pot and made enough noise to both break her invisibility charm and alert the Chrona and Ragnorak to their presence.

They were fucked! Soul panicked and grabbed Maka by the arm, hurriedly pulling her up and towards the door.

When Ragnorak turned to face them and Soul pulled Maka closer and backed up to the door, trying to turn the handle and get out without taking his eyes off the pair.

It was locked.

They were screwed.

When Maka realised that there was no escape she began flinging curses towards Ragnorak, trying to buy him time to unlock the door but no matter what he tried.

"Maka"

"What ?!" Maka hissed through her teeth as she dodged an incoming curse.

"It won't unlock"

"WHAT!" Maka practically yelled in Soul's ear as she turned back to Racknorak, throwing a stinging curse at the man.

Soul ignored her trying to figure out just how to survive the situation when he heard Maka yelp in pain. When he moved to curse at the pair Maka hastily gripped his wand, "We can't hit them, the curses just rebound"

She pulled him down just as a curse hit the door leaving it scorched, "Soul we need to get out of here, we can't hit them! We can't do anything"

Her panic was affecting her, the hand on his arm was warmer than before and he knew that they were trapped. There was nothing they could do.

They were cornered.

They were going to **die**.

They were going to **DIE** and Maka was just standing there stupidly in front of him as Ragnorak aimed for her chest. He didn't even hear the words; he jumped in front of Maka and took the brunt of the spell.

There was an intense white hot pain in his chest and Maka was screaming.

The last thing Soul saw before he blacked out was a wall of nightshade pulling itself over him.

At least she was okay.

She would survive this.

Even if he didn't.


	2. Category 2

**Category 2**

Maka watched in horror as Soul took the full force of Ragnorak's curse. As soon as he hit there was a high pitched screaming as Soul dropped to the ground, bleeding from a large diagonal wound in his chest.

Moments later she realised the screaming was from her, panic bubbled in her chest. She felt completely and utterly helpless as Soul went limp and Ragnorak advanced with Chrona not too far behind. The sheer terror of not only the possibility of losing her best friend but the idea that even the DWMA was not safe from dark wizards, supporting Asura, left her locked in place, trembling uselessly. It was only when the pair raised their wands and aimed at her did she react. The only thing she could possibly do was shield them until she could find help. In a desperate bid Maka hastily built a thick barrier of nightshade, and desperately tried to keep Soul's blood inside his body.

Maka was the smartest witch in their year and yet she didn't know any healing spells that could counter the curse. She was so useless! They were trapped and Soul was dying and there was NOTHING she could do.

They were going to die.

They were going to die and she was just sitting there!

The edges of her robes were beginning to singe from her panic, she needed to calm down. She needed to understand the situation and formulate a plan where Soul survives.

_Breathe!_

Taking a breath, she assessed the situation. Ragnorak was slicing through her makeshift barrier and he was drawing closer to where she and Soul were. There was no way to retaliate as every spell and jinx she cast would rebound and could possible hit her or Soul, her protection was slowly failing and she was definitely equipped to deal with a situation like this alone so Maka did the only thing she could think of which was fogging the lowest window pane on the door and dialling Lord Death's mirror with a bloody finger.

Luck was on her side because Lord Death answered almost immediately. Behind him was her papa and Stein and Maka hurriedly informed the three. Emphasizing the importance of time and listened as calmly as she could to Lord Death's orders to hold the two off for as long as possible.

During that time, Ragnorak had managed to slice through most of the plant matter and was advancing on them. Maka needed to stall for as long as possible so that Stein and her papa could break through the wards that prevented anyone from entering or leaving.

At this point the only thing she could do was protect herself and Soul by encouraging their current barrier to grow and widen the gap between them. Hopefully it would buy enough time to allow for help.

The process of thickening the barrier of nightshade was constant and exhausting and with each slash of their wands the pair was closing in. Soul was growing paler by the minute and help still hadn't arrived, with each minute Maka and especially Soul was closer to dying. She willed the professors, to come break through the barrier until she was too tired to think.

Spent, Maka stopped focusing on magic and continued to press on Soul's wound when her papa finally burst through the room with Stein on his tail.

Using the element of surprise, Spirit began flinging curses at the pair before Maka yelled at him, "STOP! THEY'LL REBOUND!"

Her papa turned and faced her with a sad smile while Stein kept the enemy occupied long enough for her dad to return to his post. When he did return back to fighting off Chrona and Ragnorak Stein came to Maka's side and gently pried her hands away from Soul's chest.

"Maka, what spell did he use on Soul", Stein's voice was the same old monotone he used in classes, it was a complete and utter juxtaposition from the situation at hand that Maka was taken aback for a moment.

When she gathered her wits again she stammered out, "s-sectumsempra", she could barely say the words, each syllable was thick and caught in her throat. The spell itself had been mentioned in one of the old revised textbooks discussing Defence against the Dark Arts, it was a vile, evil spell that a teacher at Hogwarts had created in the 80's.

Stein nodded and began a counter-curse while her dad fended off Chrona and Ragnorak, trying to buy them enough time to evacuate.

Maka watched Stein, terrified as the minutes spent saving Soul seemed to slow. She couldn't lose her best friend. This was her fault, if he hadn't of moved in front of her, if she had done SOMETHING instead of standing there like a fool, if she had never made him help her in the first place. If she only she hadn't transfigured the Slytherin team, Soul would be okay.

This was all her fault, she was watching her best friend fight for his life as Stein tried his best to reduce the bleeding and heal him enough to transport him to the medical wing.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to her, Soul was stable enough to be moved. Because there was still a danger with Soul's wound due to the nature of the curse, Stein had to apparate with him to the ward, to avoid splinching anyone in the urgency of the situation Maka was left behind to find her way back with her father once he immobilised the threat.

…Or rather, leave quickly when Chrona and Ragnorak took advantage of the lift of whatever spell that prevented any apparition within the school limits and disappeared.

Once she realised Soul was safe, her vision grew hazy and the world around her was distant and muffled.

Maka had no memory of the trip to the infirmary she was beyond exhausted both physically and emotionally; all she remembers seeing was a flurry of hands and faces which melted together until all she saw was the colour red that turned into darkness.

* * *

><p>Maka woke up in a bed in the infirmary with a jolt; around her were her friends. BlackStar and Patti were bickering again over whom was the better Quidditch captain, Liz was reclining in the chair beside the bed painting her nails, and Tsubaki and Kid were both looking at her with concern.<p>

When she sat up BlackStar broke off the argument with Patti and pulled her into a bone-crushing bear-hug. "You're awake!" He turned to Liz, "See! I told you my godly powers would wake her up"

Liz just rolled her eyes and cast a smile at Maka before returning to her nails. Patti however had far more enthusiasm than her sister and attacked Maka with a tight hug, rubbing her cheek against Maka's and jabbering about all the embarrassing things that had happened to BlackStar for the duration that Maka was unconscious.

There were too many stories for her to have fallen unconscious for a couple of hours, "How long was I out?" Maka asked Tsubaki as she hugged her.

It was Kid who answered, "Two. You were unconscious for two days"

That threw her for a minute; she didn't feel like she'd been sleeping for two days. There was only minimal disorientation and she remembered everything that had happened except for the trip to the infirmary. The group began filling her in on what she had missed and they informed her that her arch rival Ox had come in while she was sick with notes from their shared classes.

When they had finally finished filling her in on what she had missed, Maka looked back at kid, "is Soul – "

"He's alive", he smiled at Maka before continuing, "He's still recovering though and it may be a few days before he wakes up but he will live"

Behind him Maka saw BlackStar frown. Before she had a chance to ask Professor Gorgon rushed in and ushered everyone out so she could check on Maka.

Maka watched the woman check on her, the healer moved about with a serpent-like grace and was quick and to the point with everything. After a few questions on how she was feeling and being notified that she was free to return to the dorms and normal classes, Maka asked Professor Gorgon when she could see Soul.

"Soul's wound is still healing, due to the nature of the curse that hit him and the time it took to counter the curse he will end up with a scar", Professor Gorgon told her with a frown.

"When can I see him? Is he awake?" Maka asked her again when the healer deflected her question.

"He's… he has an infection of sorts and he hasn't woken up yet as a result but you can visit him, just be careful" She smiled at Maka before returning to her other patients.

Maka gathered her belongings and the gifts that people had left her when she was sleeping and made her way back to her dorm. It was class time and Maka had potions but she decided to skip and take a bath. The prefects' bathroom sounded like a good place to accomplish that.

Clean and feeling a little bit better about herself, Maka made her way to the hospital wing to visit Soul. Maka made her way apprehensively to the hospital ward. When she was finally in front of the doors she wasn't quite sure whether she could go in and see him. Would he be awake?

Would he hate her?

She decided that she'd just have to find out; she was a Gryffindor after all.

Maka needed to be brave. Taking a deep breath she pushed open the doors quietly and made her way to Soul's bed.

He was awake.

Maka stood there, unsure what to say or do. She was tempted to run away when he finally spotted her and called out, making room on the bed for her to sit, as if there weren't a chair right beside his bed. He still couldn't sit up very well and there were bandages wrapped around his midsection. She was so incredibly happy that he was alive and when she felt his hand slip into hers she smiled at him, resting her head against his.

Side by side they lay there, Soul had drifted off to sleep and Maka was left alone with her thoughts. She was so happy he was alive and so utterly terrified that he would die. She couldn't bear to lose him and that scar that bisected his chest under clean white linen served as a reminder of her cowardice. It reminded her of her weakness and she needed to get stronger.

She needed to get stronger.

Moving quietly she slipped out of the small bed and made her way to her remaining classes, after all. She couldn't get stronger if she was skipping class.

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since she last saw Soul, they wouldn't let her in. When she heard the news that Soul's condition had mysteriously deteriorated again her heart stopped and her blood ran cold.<p>

She had just gotten him back and now….

Maka felt so heavy, it had only been a few days but the weight of being the reason Soul was like this was weighing her down. After the news of Soul's deterioration, Maka had called Wes, using Soul's phone she confessed her sins atop the astronomy tower and cried as he offered her forgiveness so easily. She could never forgive herself, she kept letting Soul slip through her fingertips, his condition continued to worsen and there was nothing she could do.

It was killing her.

She was struggling to keep up in class, her spells and assignments were suffering greatly and what was worse was that she was the only sixth year who hadn't managed to manifest her patronus. The stress was eating her away and it truly was killing her. Each night she would see Soul slashed across the chest, his blood splashing up onto her face, pouring into her mouth as she screamed and watched helplessly as the light in his eyes faded and he died.

Again and again, the same dream haunted her. It started as nightmares until she stopped sleeping, then it came to her in the day. Small flashes and triggers left her biting her lip until it bled, trying to keep from crying in the middle of classes. She could see the concern in her friends faces, in the faces of teachers who were more her parents than mentors.

Maka didn't want anyone to know. She didn't want anyone to discover just how weak she was. And she hid it well until Defence against the Dark Arts where were to face a boggart. It was all laughter as people turned their worst fears, spiders and Steins, into ridiculous creatures that were ridiculed.

It was all fun and games until Maka stepped up to the creature.

The cruel formless creature who transformed itself into Soul, and there, in front of all her classmates, she watched Soul die.

When she woke up again she was alone, save for her father who – with special permission from Lord Death – was in her dorm sitting by her bed. Maka panicked. Sitting up quickly, she clutched her head, remembering her hysterical panicked screams; her body hitting the floor and the sound of silence save for the click of a lock on the wardrobe. Everyone was silent around her, looking at her with such pity.

She wanted to hurt them but all she could do was sob and shiver on the dusty carpet. She continued to cry, the image of Soul, the feeling of his body heavy with death was burned into her mind. Now everyone knew her nightmares, everyone knew she was weak. Maka couldn't move, for a long time she stayed hunched over, her body coiled so tightly it felt as if her bones could break at any moment. Finally she felt a pair of warm hands, hands that belonged to Stein, gently pick her up and carry her to another set of even warmer and familiar hands. Her papa carried her to bed and he stayed by her side.

She wanted to smile at her papa now, to thank him or hug him. To tell him she was sorry for being so weak but nothing came out of her mouth. Her body was too heavy, even after sleeping she could barely move. She was so tired. So Maka decided to sleep.

It had been a week since her episode and Maka still hadn't returned to classes. She couldn't bear to show her face, to show her weakness, to everyone. The nightmares continued and grew more vivid each night until she just stopped sleeping altogether. Tsubaki and BlackStar had shown up in her dorm a number of times, their concern and pity so overwhelming that she often had to ask them to leave. She knew they were worried but Maka just couldn't bring herself to face anyone just yet.

Maka turned to reading and her grades were dropping but she still couldn't bring herself to attend. As long as Soul was still sick, trapped in his own world of thrashing and nightmares, Maka did not have the courage to deal with anyone.

It wasn't long before she felt the guilt consume her. She was so selfish; she was so entirely childish that it made her heart ache. All she wanted was Soul but that was merely a pipe-dream.

She had grown sick of the pity and the looks of worry, she didn't want to be such a burden on everyone and at one point she'd had enough. Maka finally snapped. She got on her broomstick for a ride.

And she didn't come off again.


	3. Category 3

**Category 3**

Soul was still weak from weeks of being trapped in his own head. He had been trapped, battling nightmare after nightmare until they all bled into one long terror he was afraid he'd never wake up from. He was caught in an endless loop of watching Maka die, watching himself kill her in a thousand different ways.

In the end he just wanted his own bed again. He wanted to hear the easy Hufflepuff banter of his dorm room and more importantly he wanted to see Maka.

He needed to see her. He just needed her. Period.

When they finally released him from the infirmary he was met with the worried face of his brother. Looking around for a minute his eyes came back to Wes whose mouth was set in a grim line saying everything that needed to be said: Maka wasn't here.

Where she went, he had no idea but he knew that she had been the one to call Wes after he relapsed. His suspicions were further proved when Wes swept him up into a tight, bone-crushing hug, much like the ones Star gives.

"You scared the hell outta me Soul", Wes mumbled after he finally pulled back.

"M'sorry, have you seen Maka?"

Wes slipped his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, it was a move he made whenever he was about to say something unpleasant or uncomfortable. Soul eyed his brother cautiously as the older Evans brother carefully chose his words.

"Soul." Wes stopped and sighed, hunching his shoulders even further, "She's not here."

It took Soul a minute to process what his brother had just said. What in the hell did _here_ mean? Was it not in this room?

Not in the state? Not in the country?

No longer living?

Soul's mind spiralled into panic mode and something must've given because Wes was shaking him trying to get his attention.

"Calm down bro, she's staying at her cousin's in Death City"

"W- why? And what cousin?"

"I dunno", Wes paused, "Maka wasn't doing too well. Soul you scared the crap out of her and nearly died, it does things to people and watching you relapse…. 'M pretty sure it was killing her"

Soul just looked at his brother, processing what he had said.

"She called me you know"

"Who, Maka?"

"Yeah", Wes sighed heavily. He looked tired and it took him a little while to continue, "She was the one who contacted us, called me and broke down crying."

Soul couldn't look at his brother; he didn't want to see the image of Maka crying in his mind.

"Soul, she blames herself. You need to do something because I don't wanna see her fall apart and I sure as hell know you don't either."

"Then tell me everything, everything that I missed while I was out."

So Wes told Soul everything he knew and at end of it, Wes looked a wreck.

After all, Maka was Soul's best friend and had spent holidays at Soul's place with his family. Wes couldn't help but like the girl.

* * *

><p>A few days had passed since Soul had been officially released from the hospital wing and he was starting to get back to his routine. Maka still wasn't back and Soul had never felt more alone. His sleep was constantly being interrupted by horrible nightmares of a death eater with a painted face and curved black horns. The man was swaying ever so slightly to a swing record as he grinned almost demonically at Soul as the man presented him with a different ways to kill Maka every night.<p>

It was killing him. He saw Professor Gorgon about it but the medicine she had given him only made things worse.

He needed Maka.

She would know what to do. She always did.

Soul was walking to his common room when he passed Tsubaki in the hallway. Without thinking he grabbed her hand and dragged her into an empty corridor with a hundred questions about Maka.

Tsubaki listened to his jumbled and hurried questions patiently (_how is she? where is she? Is she okay? Can I see her? Will she see me? Does she hate me? Who is her cousin?)._ Soul watched on as she asked him to stop for a moment and he feared that he had offended her. She closed her eyes and behind her, the room of requirement appeared.

Soul marvelled at her skill for a moment before following her in and finding a small sitting room with a pot of tea ready to be served. Tsubaki gestured for Soul to sit and then sat opposite him and began her own explanation of what happened with Maka during Soul's absence.

"She was okay when you were awake", Tsubaki began, "She had planned on getting better but then you got sick again and they wouldn't let her see you. Soul, it was hell seeing you close to dying and watching Maka destroy herself over it."

Tsubaki explained how she watched the guilt eat Maka away, how Liz told her that her grades were suffering and she wasn't sleeping. Tsubaki told him about her lack of patronus and her nightmares.

Then she told him about their Defence Against the Dark Arts class and how the boggart became Maka's greatest fear, how it became Soul's death and how it completely destroyed Maka, right there in front of the class.

Soul listened on in horror as Tsubaki talked of how Maka grew worse and worse until she took off and disappeared for two days, of how she took the heavy berating from teachers with dead eyes.

"Where is she staying now? Wes said she's with a cousin but she doesn't have any"

Tsubaki smiled a little at this, "She's with Blaire in the city"

_Ah_, Soul understood now that Tsubaki knew Maka's little secret. The one about her familiar being a flirty animagus named Blair.

After he found out what he needed to know about Maka, Soul asked the girl about the state of the wizarding world. He wanted to know just how bad it was getting, especially after the castle was infiltrated by Kishin. In his hurry to find out about Maka, he forgot about how everything was going to shit.

Tsubaki looked at her watch (a muggle souvenir from the time Maka went to New York with Soul for the holidays) and refilled her cup. Soul realised he didn't know the time but since the Tsubaki stayed in her seat and sipped her tea, Soul deemed it safe.

After finishing her second cup, Tsubaki calmly informed Soul about the recent reports of Kishin and Asura sightings in both the Muggle and Wizarding world. The Daily Prophet was filled with more and more missing persons reports and lists of recent Alcatraz escapees. Everything was descending into chaos, fear and madness had started to take over wizards and witches around the world. Parents were scared and were pulling their kids out of school.

Soul had noticed the numbers dwindling.

Everyone was scared of having a repeat of the Grimm Times, where there were mass graves became a necessity and nowhere was safe. Everyone was terrified of what happened in Britain in the 70's and 90's with Lord Voldemort, happening in the US with Asura. Soul understood the scar left on the wizarding world after these horrific wars so he also understood their need for tighter security. People had begun to hide in bunkers and now dementors had been employed in almost every wizarding city. This included DC and consequently involved the DWMA.

Tsubaki talked for a while longer, filling him in on school work for the classes that Hufflepuff and Slytherin shared together, events that went on with their group, and the current gossip floating around the hallways. When she had finished it was quite late and dinner was about to be presented in the halls at any moment.

He thanked Tsubaki for her help on the way to the dining hall and hurried to his house table, sitting next to his brother who still looked completely out of place but thoroughly enjoying the experience. Being caught up on everything, he noticed the empty benches where students had been pulled out from the school and the whispers that filled the great hall.

The atmosphere was somewhat tenser than it should have been but many people still jabbered on cheerfully. With Wes there, Soul didn't have any more time to think about what was happening, he was too busy explaining the ins-and-outs of DWMA before his visitor's pass expired and he had to return to New York.

When Soul finally made his way back into his own bed Soul finally remembered something that had been nagging in the back of his mind. Maka was the brightest witch of their age and yet she hadn't been able to cast a Patronus.

Even he could cast a fully-formed patronus (a grizzly bear). Soul thought that it must be killing Maka, to not be able to cast her patronus strong enough to find out what form it takes.

* * *

><p>Maka came back to school a week later.<p>

As soon as he had heard the news he ran out to the front stairs to meet her, running straight out of potions (Stein was going to kill him for that later on) and whisked her up into a tight hug, it took Blaire and Spirit to pry her away from Soul's arms.

It took them even longer to pry her away from him.

Soul looked at Maka with a big grin on his face because despite all the shit going on he was over the moon to have his best friend back. Once the euphoria wore off he noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes and the way her eyes would never quite meet his as they walked to the Gryffindor common room. She was more subdued than usual and now their relationship felt forced. It was like being kicked in the gut because just when Soul thought he would get Maka back, he had lost her again.

Something in the back of his mind whispered viciously that this is what Maka would have felt like when he was in the hospital wing.

It continued this way for several more days, Maka avoiding looking Soul in the eyes and Soul feeling as if there was a growing hole burning into his gut. Eventually Soul grew tired of Maka avoiding him and on their way to the dining hall he pulled her roughly into another corridor to find out just what was going on with his best friend.

"Soul! What – ", Maka wrenched herself from his grip, " – are you doing?"

Soul crossed his arms, "Waiting for you to tell me why you're avoiding me"

"I am not!"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that", Soul said sternly, "Look at me and tell me that you aren't avoiding me"

"I – " Maka stopped. It was silent for a few minutes before her voice hardened, "It's nothing Soul, you're imagining things."

Anger began to bubble in his stomach and burn through him like poison. Maka HAD been avoiding his gaze. She had barely looked at him since she got back from DC and now she goes ahead and dismisses him? It was bullshit and before he could hold himself back he started yelling.

"YOU! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED ME IN THE EYE ONCE SINCE YOU GOT BACK!" Soul roared, "DON'T TELL ME I'M IMAGINING THINGS"

Instead of shrinking back like most girls Maka threw her head back and glared at him angrily. It was a step up from her not looking him in the eye but Soul was still furious to realise it at that moment.

"DON'T – " Maka yelled back before she could stop herself. Taking a deep breath she tried again, "Don't you dare. You have **no** idea what you are talking about Soul. So why. Don't. You. Back. The **fuck**. Off."

At this point Maka and Soul were almost nose to nose, Maka's index finger was jabbing him in the chest at each word and there was a faint burning smell lingering between them.

"Make me", Soul said back with just as much venom and he instantly regretted it.

It wasn't like the movies at home where Maka pulled him down and ferociously kissed him (A secret pipedream Soul had whenever they fought), in reality it ended with Maka hissing through her teeth at him and setting his robes on fire.

Soul jumped back in panic and began stomping on the hem of his robes, tryoing to put the flame out before he ripped them off and threw the garment onto the floor and used magic to put the flames out. When he pulled his smoking robes up to inspect the damage he found that the majority of the bottom half of his robes had been burnt off. Soul turned and looked at Maka helplessly.

He caught a brief flash of panic on her face before she burst out laughing, apparently finding his predicament hilarious. Her laughter, after weeks of radio silence and uncomfortable encounters, was the best sound Soul had ever heard. He couldn't help but laugh as well.

It was almost like he was finally getting her back, like their friendship could go back to the way it was before discovering Chrona's betrayal. Soul couldn't help himself, with the way Maka was laughing and smiling happily Soul couldn't resist sweeping her up into a tight hug and spinning her around like he'd won the lottery or something.

Maka squealed in his arms and wrapped her own more securely around his neck as he slowly lowered her to the ground and without thinking he pressed his lips to hers.

Realising what he had done, Soul tried to pull away but Maka, still in shock, had her arms locked around Soul's neck. There was a sharp sensation of panic that flooded through him before Maka kissed him back.

As far as first kisses went, it wasn't bad. Their teeth clashed a little to begin with but Soul believed that if Maka set him on fire again he'd die happy.

"SOUUUUL, MAKAAAAA"

Well at least for a minute or two.

They pulled apart, both blushing and Soul watched as Maka put her hand on top of his heart. Soul could feel the heat of her palm through his shirt and he was sure she could feel the uneven skin that marked the beginning of his scar.

This time, she looked in his eyes.

"Soul I'm so sorry. I – "

Soul cut her off with a quick kiss and a quiet, "I know". They stood there a little while longer until Patti's voice drew closer.

They were going to be late for dinner.

Maka turned to leave and just as she rounded the corner she looked over her shoulder and smiled at Soul. He watched as the robes in his hands began to mend themselves and when he looked up again Maka was gone. He could hear her chatting with Patti on their way to the great hall.


	4. Category 4

**Category Four**

Maka had finally caught up with the work she missed while she was away (well she was actually comfortably ahead again since Tsubaki had been sending her the homework tasks via owl) when she looked up and out the common room window. It was quite late and everyone else was in bed so there was no one else to notice how the dementors were now flying within the school perimeters. Maka wanted to tell someone but it was now almost two in the morning and waking Liz up was an extremely bad idea. She assumed Lord Death had given them permission to come closer to the school grounds due to the increase in Kishin sightings.

Maka packed her things and cast one last glance outside before heading up the stairs to her room. She needed some sleep if she was going to deal with tomorrow, especially after that kiss with Soul.

Drawing the curtains around her bed, Maka couldn't help herself, every time she closed her eyes she remembered what happened earlier that day.

How she accidentally set Soul on fire. They were fighting, Soul wanted answers and she couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was in the wrong. To tell him that the reason she couldn't look him in the eyes without watching him die.

And because of that, they fought. He had yelled at her in a tone that she had never heard before. He sounded hurt and there wasn't any possible way that she could fix that. Or so she thought.

Perhaps that fight was for the best because after she burned the ends of his robes off he gave her a look of complete helplessness, she couldn't help herself, she laughed.

And then he laughed. All was forgiven.

It was like magic. Maka was so happy at that moment, she felt like she hadn't laughed in years and seeing Soul so happy and carefree…

She supposes that Soul couldn't help himself either because before she knew it, Maka was spinning in Souls arms, her toes barely grazing the stone floor.

And then he kissed her.

And then she kissed him back.

It was a rash move brought on by getting her best friend back after weeks and months of being terrified of him dying. Don't get her wrong, Maka was overjoyed that of all people to kiss, Soul 'Eater' Evans chose her.

There was a problem though.

Maka had no idea what this meant for them. There really wasn't any time to think about it, not with what was happening in the school with the exams coming up, and the whole problem with Asura and the rising panic with the latest report of Kishin sightings.

All of it was overwhelming and it was especially terrifying for Maka because of Chrona's betrayal. She had liked Chrona and always tried to be nice to them. And know she knows they're a traitor, and that they tried to kill Soul. But she wasn't going to think about that now. She couldn't go back down that path.

Not now.

* * *

><p>The next morning Maka found Soul outside the Gryffindor common room arguing with the Gryffindor portrait. When he saw her come out from behind the portrait he mumbled something about going to breakfast together.<p>

Maka laughed a little at this because he seemed so embarrassed but this was in fact a normal occurrence. Only it was usually Maka (who knew how to get into almost every common room off by heart) coaxing Soul out of bed by ripping off his blankets and levitating him off the bed a few centimetres.

She thought it was cute that he made an effort to meet her at the door but she was still a little confused as to what they were. Was that kiss just a fluke?

It was all happening a little too fast for her and if she was being honest with herself, she just wanted him to be her best friend for a little bit before they start whatever this is. There was just too much going on at the moment.

When they reached the moving staircases Soul led her up a different flight of stairs than usual and into a deserted corridor. Turning to Maka he cleared his throat.

"I – I need to talk to you", he started.

Maka gave him a curious look; she wondered what was going on inside his head at the moment.

"About yesterday, I uh – ", Now he was avoiding her gaze, "_kindasortareallylikedit_."

It took Maka a few minutes to process what he was saying because he spoke so quickly and quietly that it was hard to catch. When she did finally catch on to what he'd said, her cheeks grew warm and she was sure she was blushing.

"I liked it too", She said equally as quiet, "Where do we go from here?"

"Uh…" Soul scratched the back of his head.

Being best friends had its perks, one of which was knowing Soul's body language. Maka realised that Soul didn't really know what to do either.

Yes she liked Soul and by that kiss yesterday, she guessed he somewhat liked her back but Maka was at a loss on where to go and clearly Soul had no idea either.

Were they supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend now?

That just sounded stupid and belittled the relationship they had. She definitely did not want to go to cooing and acting like idiots around each other. Watching Ox chase after Kim was bad enough.

Maka liked how they were around each other. And at that she came to a realisation.

"Soul", she said, "We can act the same way as we used to, you know"

His reaction wasn't what she expected. He looked disappointed and his '_yeah'_ sounded defeated.

Maybe he wanted things to change?

Well a little change might be alright, "But – "

Soul looked up at her. Maka gathered all her courage and moved closer to Soul.

"We may or may not get the added bonus of this…" Maka said and pulled him in for a kiss.

By the time their blushes had faded away and Soul finally let Maka go without planting one on her every few minutes the morning announcements were over.

Separating into their respective tables was a moot point now as everyone had moved around to chat with their friends for breakfast. Tsubaki, Patti and Kid were already at the Gryffindor table when Maka and Soul arrived for breakfast. Everyone was in a foul mood (well Tsubaki was smiling less and Kid looked even stonier than usual).

"What'd we miss?" Maka asked trying figure out why everyone looked as if Excalibur told them he's the new headmaster.

BlackStar made frantic hand motions and turned red in the face, it was obvious someone had out a tongue-tying curse on him to get him to shut up. Casting a hopeless look at Tsubaki, she turned to Kid instead.

"DC trip has been cancelled", he said.

"Patti leant over him, looking positively furious, "And we've almost run out of Weasley Wheezes too. You know we can't take owl orders because of our statuses". Patti glanced at BlackStar and then shot a dirty look at Liz.

In agreement with Patti, BlackStar slammed his fists on the table, knocking over Kid's pumpkin juice and causing an even bigger fiasco. When Liz's attention had been diverted, Soul leant over Maka and Kid, and promised to order her stuff for her and slipped her some paper for her order. Leaning back, Soul's hand brushed Maka's thigh.

Maka smiled at him and then followed his suggestion, nudging Patti and leaving the dining hall. Maka then explained all the secret passageways and hidey holes in the school so Patti's stash wouldn't get confiscated during dorm searches. They were just coming out of the room of requirement when she saw her Papa further down the hall and stopped mid-sentence, she didn't want her papa knowing that she was telling Patti the secrets of the DWMA. Maka was about to turn around and head back for Soul and the rest when her papa called out.

"Maks, I need to talk to you", he wasn't himself and for a moment Maka feared what he was going to tell her. She had a bad feeling it wasn't good news.

She was right. Two of the best Aurors were dead.

* * *

><p>The news of Justin Law and Joe Buttaki's murders had shocked all the students. Law was a friendly student who graduated last year, going on to be the youngest Auror in the country. And Buttaki, he used to look after Maka as a kid, when her papa had to teach classes. He used to let her try his muggle things like coffee whilst she helped him tinker with muggle objects in his shed back when he was the muggle studies professor.<p>

It was a special kind of heartbreak for Maka and she felt like there was a target on her back. Everyone did. The only consolation (which made her feel worse for thinking) was that Soul was alive.

Maka held her head between her knees. She had fainted again while practicing the patronus charm on a boggart. It wasn't like she had an awful life; she just couldn't get a solid patronus before the boggart became Soul and gave her a panic attack. She didn't understand why it affected her so much, even now when she had him with her again. She just felt useless, nothing was working and she still could only produce wisps, little silver strings of happiness that did stuff all against a real dementor. Rubbing her temple she groaned.

Maka felt a hand tug on her pigtails and looked up.

"Hey, you alright?" Soul sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug, classes must have finished.

Maka buried her nose into Soul's robes, he smelt like sweat and dragon dung and she could see a patch of dirt under his jaw, "You stink"

He just laughed.

They sat there for a little while longer before she realised she hadn't answered Soul. Taking a deep breath she spoke, "I can't make a patronus and I can't even use boggarts anymore", she tightened her grip on his robes and felt his arm tighten around her. Maka took a breath before continuing, "My biggest fear is losing you. Did you know that?"

"I did", he kissed her hair, "And my biggest fear is flying on a broom with you." Maka punched him in the ribs until he stopped laughing, when he did he whispered, "My biggest fear is losing you too."

Soul dipped down and brushed his lips over Maka's, in return she wrapped her arms around Soul's neck and deepened the kiss. It was slow and soft and lit fireworks in Maka's gut. They broke apart and Soul pulled Maka into his lap, resting his chin on her head.

"So about that homework..."

"Asshole."


	5. Category 5

**Category Five**

It was no secret that Quidditch was a big thing. Soul once told her that it was almost as crazy as the Super Bowl, a strange muggle sport that people world-wide watch, just for their 'ads'. In the wizarding world, Quidditch was as important, so it was no surprise that as soon as Maka was deemed healthy enough to play, BlackStar had her doing drills like a madman.

She secretly appreciated this because she was off her game from weeks of no practice but outwardly she was spitting at how much time the long practices were taking away from her school work. Still she followed Star's plays and listened to his criticisms because they were going to need all the help they could get, they were going against Hufflepuff.

Everyone always assumed that Slytherin were the hardasses when it came to Quidditch and for a while that was true. Then a force of nature named Patti Thompson came in and Hufflepuff was suddenly notorious for their dirty plays, out-shining even the nastiest of Slytherins.

Which is how Maka found herself stuck in the locker rooms with nothing but a towel. Maka sat there and waited for someone to find her or for Patti to return her damn clothes. She hated being in here trapped in nothing but a damp towel but she sure as shit was not going out in just a towel in front of everyone, she refused to face that sort of humiliation. She knew Patti too well.

"Maka?"

Oh great, it was Soul. Somehow she wished it was Tsubaki who found her but Maka had been waiting for hours. Maka stood up from the bench and called out, "Can you get me some clothes?"

Soul walked into the changing rooms and stopped dead in his tracks. Looking up quickly, Soul sighed, "Patti?"

"Yup", Maka shifted around, this was so awkward. She was deliberating asking Soul to get Liz to grab her some clothes when Soul cleared his throat.

"Okay, I'll go get some." Soul looked at her and she nodded.

He turned to leave and then stopped. He slowly swivelled around and coughed slightly, "What about uh, underwear?"

Maka hissed at him, turning bright red, "Of course Soul!"

"Uh, right." Soul turned to leave again, Maka could see his ears were red and she sighed before saying, "And a bra too! They're in my trunk, on the right side. Password is Gillyweed!"

Soul left and Maka was left waiting again. It was a painful wait with the thought Soul rifling through her clothes. About ten minutes later Soul walked in through the door with a pile of her robes and a wave of relief came over her.

"Oh thank god!" Maka ran forward to grab the clothes from him, forgetting that she was supposed to be supporting her towel, which had slipped off at her sudden movement. Soul's blush deepened as she let out a tiny scream and ran into a stall to change. Slipping into the comfortable clothes Soul brought her, she fought herself to hide in the stall forever.

Gathering her courage, she went back out to face Soul, who she noticed was trying very hard not to look at her.

"I can't wait for this match to be over." Maka said, startling Soul, she cast him a look and continued, "I almost regret ordering her pranking gear because now I'm copping it"

Soul chuckled and ruffled her hair, "What about me? I have to look at your plain-ass panties."

Maka punched him, her blush returning at full force, "Well sorry not all of us wear sheer lace", Maka sniffed. Maka gathered her stuff into her bag and mumbled, "S'not like anyone's gonna see my panties anyway."

Walking out of the changing rooms Soul coughed, "…About that."

Maka looked up and stopped dead in her tracks because from the highest point of the astrology tower she could see her plain-ass white panties were flapping in the wind.

Patti was going DOWN!

* * *

><p>It had been a hard week, with Patti pranking the Gryffindor team at every opportunity. Maka vowed to never order things for Patti again after this was over. Standing in the changing rooms, Maka paced while BlackStar poured over his tactics. She felt uneasy, usually she was a little nervous before a match but this time it was different. There was something unsettling about the weather, it had been raining for the last week and something about that wasn't right, they live in the desert for Death's sake.<p>

She gave up pacing and sat, trying to remember the drills BlackStar wanted her to play when Soul walked in. He was in his robes and for a minute everyone sat up straighter, ready for a fight before they realised it was just Soul and not a spy or Patti herself.

"Hey", he smiled at her.

"Hey", Maka gave a nervous smile in return and motioned for him to go outside with her. When they were outside she dropped her smile and bit her lip, "Soul something doesn't feel right."

Souls hand pulled her jaw up so she was forced to meet his eyes, "It'll be fine Maka."

"I know", She mumbled, still looking at him.

"For luck", Soul said and leant down, pressing his lips against hers.

Maka still felt a thrill when kissing Soul; it was like a bolt of electricity shooting through her body. Heat pooled in her belly and she wrapped her arms around Soul's neck, deepening the kiss.

She felt Soul's hands settle on her hips, the warmth from his hands seeping through the fabric of her robes as he pulled her body closer to his. Maka pushed him against the wall and fisted her hands in his hair as their kisses grew more heated and she grunted as he pulled away and hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his hips in reflex. In retaliation Maka trailed kisses down this throat, and moved her hips against his. Soul moaned in her ear and he pulled her closer yet.

"Maka!"

Maka pulled away quickly, she knew that voice!

"QUIT MAKING OUT WITH THE ENEMY AND GET IN HERE", BlackStar yelled from the doorway and Maka blushed, moving away from Soul.

Before she could move out of his reach, Soul locked his arms around her waist. Pulling her closer he kissed her softly, "wait."

"Soul", Maka said quietly, "I have a match to play."

"You're gonna fine Maka"

Maka let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Somehow he always knew what she needed to hear; Maka wrapped her arms around Soul tightly and kissed him.

"MAKA! YOUR GOD COMMANDS YOU TO GET YOUR ASS IN HERE"

Maka gave Soul a wave and went inside to face BlackStar's heckling.

A half-time huddle later and everyone was making their way to the Quidditch Pitch. The unsettling feeling grew more prominent in Maka's mind and she nearly missed the whistle marking the beginning of the match.

Touching off from the ground, Maka flew around searching for the snitch. Deciding it would be better to go higher up to see scan the pitch; she noticed the fog was getting thicker and it was making it impossible to see. Moving around she watched her team struggle to face off against Patti's brutal attacks and scanned the grounds for the snitch so they could end the game early.

Following some of BlackStar's plays, she noticed the atmosphere growing colder as the fog thickened and the unsettling feeling in her gut grew stronger. It was uncharacteristically cold for the Nevada desert, even for winter, but she guessed it was just offset from the dementors stationed around the school's perimeter.

Maka continued to scan for the snitch, wincing as Patti knocked one of their beaters unconscious and scored.

A flash of gold in the skies above her caught Maka's eye, trying to avoid the Hufflepuff seeker, Maka made her way upwards into the fog, searching for the golden ball that would end this game in Gryffindor's favour. She was so focused of following the snitch she missed the flashes of black and when a Dementor appeared directly in front of her it took all of strength not to fall off her broom as she dropped to avoid it's kiss.

Maka was panicking, she knew that dementors only did that to the worst of the criminals, and there was no mistaking that rattling intake of breath that meant the loss of her Soul.

Maka tried to get her bearings in the heavy fog that settled in the skies when she caught sight of another Dementor, dropping rapidly again she fell right into the path of a whole hoard.

She let out a startled scream and tried evading the pack.

It was too late!

They had her surrounded and each black cloaked nightmare drew a rattling breath.

There was no time!

She had to cast her patronus. She couldn't even cast a patronus! Panicking she tried to calm herself, practically ripping her wand out of her waistband and hurriedly casting the spell.

She watched, terrified, as the hoard drew closer, their hollow gasping growing louder as outstretched skeletal hands took hold of her robes. Maka tried to cast her patronus again and watched as the spell fizzled and died.

And then they descended.

It felt as if the air from her lungs were being ripped out. Swoop after swoop the dementors took more and more of her. She was feeling faint and all she could hear were screams of terror.

She was dying.

She would never see Soul again and the thought of his face, what he would go through if she died, spurred her into action.

Maka cast her wand in a large arc, as if to slash through the demons in front of her, and cast her patronus. The last thing she saw was a blazing phoenix reigning fire unto the dementors.

And then she fell of her broom.

* * *

><p>Maka woke up and immediately rolled over to vomit into a bucket that someone had thoughtfully left beside the bed. She was feeling awful, and vowed to never find herself in the infirmary again. Exhausted, Maka wiped her mouth, rolled over and went back to sleep.<p>

When she woke up again, Soul was snoring into her shoulder. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, so she struggled to sit up, and when she did she came face to face with her papa.

She could tell he wasn't happy about Soul being in the hospital bed with her but he managed to restrain himself. Giving her a small kiss on the head and a tight hug he left, not explaining what the hell happened and how she ended up in the infirmary in the first place.

Looking down at Soul, she realised he was still dead to the world and there was no one else around so she sighed and wiggled back down and into Souls arms, drifting back off to sleep.

When Maka woke up again, it was because Patti and BlackStar were bickering. When they noticed she was awake, they went silent and there was a chorus of awkward 'hey's.

Sitting up, Maka looked at her friends suspiciously, "what's going on?" She asked.

"You passed out Dipshit"

"Dementor attack!"

"We lost the match"

"Roar! Phoenix-man saves the day!"

"Shut up you two!" From Maka's side Soul threw a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans at BlackStar. Soul slumped back down and dug his hands into his eyes, "Kid better explain. He knows more that those idiots do."

"Shut up and bow – "

"Star", Tsubaki placed a hand on BlackStar's shoulder and nudged him and Patti out the infirmary.

Kid sat down heavily in the chair and began telling Maka what happened, "Father was furious. The Dementors came inside the school grounds and started attacking students in the Quidditch pitch." Kid looked at Soul quickly before returning to his explanation, "Apparently Chrona and Ragnorak aren't the only spies in here."

Maka looked between Kid and Soul in confusion, "Wait, so the Dementors weren't sent by the Ministry?"

"No."

"So what does Soul have to do with all this?"

"Jeez Kid, you're making me sound guilty." Soul sat up and looked at Maka, "The Dementors were working for Professor Medusa."

It took a moment for Maka to process what Soul and Kid were implying, when she finally understood a wave of nausea hit her and she doubled over to vomit into a clean bucket beside her bed. When she finished retching she noticed Soul's hand on her back and Kid's look of disgust.

Ignoring both of their reactions Maka wiped her mouth, "Didn't she treat Soul? Does that mean she…"

"We don't have a clue what she's done to him", Kid looked grim.

"But can't you – "

"We've run all the tests." Someone said from behind her. Turning around, Maka found Stein and Lord Death looking haggard.

"Maka, why don't we wait until you're feeling better to discuss this", Lord Death said, "afterall, you did save us all, I would think that doing so was very tiring. Even for a witch such as yourself."

Before Maka could ask just what the hell he meant, Lord Death and Stein walked out.

"Well I am needed back in class", Kid gave them a little wave before following his father and Stein, leaving Soul and Maka alone.

Confused, Maka nudged Soul, "What did they mean?"

"Well you saved us."

"Yeah, but how? All I did was pass out."

"So you mean you didn't see it?"

"See what?!"

Soul gripped Maka's shoulders lightly, "Maka, your patronus! You can cast a fully formed patronus!"

"What?" Maka looked at Soul, astounded, "Well what is it?"

Soul looked as if he could barely contain himself. His grip on her shoulders tightened and he kissed her. Pulling her tightly against him, Soul tangled his hands in her hair as she kissed him back with just as much vigour.

Pulling away Soul looked at Maka, they were so close that he went slightly cross-eyed, "Maka, your patronus is a phoenix!"

* * *

><p><strong>-Omake-<strong>

Maka listened half-heatedly to her papa's lecture on her compact mirror. He was yelling something about her purity and octopi but Maka couldn't focus. Instead she let her mind wander to the discussion she had with Lord Death and Stein in the Death Room.

They couldn't find anything wrong with Soul after discovering Professor Medusa's betrayal. Apparently she was behind Joe Buttaki's murder as well and to Maka this was simply unforgivable. Whatever Medusa had done to Soul could not be found but they feared that something might manifest later on if he was not watched.

So Maka got the privilege of lodging with Soul over the Christmas period to Make sure nothing funny happened to him outside school (that and her papa was on damage control clean-up for the Ministry). Maka didn't seem to mind much, snapping her compact closed she watched Soul shave in his ensuite.

She caught his eye in the mirror and smiled at him, spreading out further on his bed and watching his reaction.

Soul went bright red and returned to concentrating on shaving.

"Fuck!"

Maka sat up and looked at Soul, "What's wrong?"

"Nicked myself"

"Come here you idiot", Maka laughed. Soul came towards her and handed her a wad of paper to stick on the cut. Maka was about to press it on the wound when she noticed something peculiar. Moving him closer to the light, she felt her body grow cold.

"Soul. Your blood is black."

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. It was super fun to enter for resbang and hopefully I'll contribute next year too.<p> 


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